Page 45 of Twilight Destiny

And he came to her in the dark of the night, a shadowy figure who appeared out of nowhere and wrapped her in his embrace, his dark eyes glowing as his fangs lightly grazed her throat. His hands and his voice caressed her, begging her to be his, to let him give her the Dark Gift so they could be together forever. Vowing that he loved her. Would always love her. Unable to refuse his entreaty or the yearning in his eyes, she bared her throat to his bite …

“No!” Rosa screamed the word as she sat up. Turning on the lamp beside the bed, she lifted a hand to her neck. She felt no punctures, saw no blood on her fingertips.

Sighing with relief, she fell back on the mattress. Only a dream.

Returning to work was the best thing she could have done, Rosa thought at her desk the next morning. She had called first thing and let everyone know she had come home early. As it turned out, the girl who had been temporarily replacing her was out sick and the other members of the staff were more than happy to have her back.

Being at work, making appointments, answering the phones, gave her a sense of purpose. She enjoyed interacting with the patients, assuring those who were nervous there was nothing to fear, handing out lollipops to the kids. Her coworkers all stopped by her desk to let her know she had been missed. Happily, she was too busy to think about a hunky vampire with gorgeous chocolate brown eyes and a whiskey-rough voice that made her insides melt like ice on a hot summer day.

She went to lunch with Bria, the only other single girl in the office. Bria was a hygienist and a year older than Rosa. She had beautiful caramel colored skin, large brown eyes, and a mass of black hair she wore in braids because, as Bria said, “it was too darn unmanageable otherwise.” She was engaged to a police officer.

They went to their favorite pizza place for lunch. “So, did you meet any attractive men on your vacation?” Bria asked, adding sugar to her iced tea.

Rosa took a bite of pizza to keep from answering right away. She should have known that would be Bria’s first question.

“I’m waiting.”

“I did meet someone,” Rosa said. “He was very nice, but not my type.”

“Did you take any pictures?”

Rosa shook her head. For a moment, she wished she had, and then she was glad she hadn’t. She would never get Jake out of her mind or her heart if she could look at his image every time she missed him.

“Well, darn, girl. We’ll just have to keep looking. Maybe I’ll ask Tom if he knows anyone on the force who’s available.”

“Don’t bother. I’m not ready right now.”

“Uh-oh. This guy you met, he hurt you, didn’t he?”

“No. No, he was wonderful—tall and dark and gorgeous, with muscular arms and beautiful eyes. Everything I ever wanted. Well, almost everything,” she amended.

“He sure sounds like your type. Hell, he sounds likemytype,” Bria said with a grin. “So, what was wrong with him? Was he married? Engaged? Recently divorced?”

“No, nothing like that. We were just too different. So, have you and Tom set a date yet?”

“All right,” Bria said with a grin. “We’ll change the subject. But I’m not going to stop looking. I know the right man for you is out there somewhere.”

I had him, Rosa thought sadly.And I let him go.

Rosa hated to see the work day end. Hated to think about going back to her lonely apartment. Maybe she should get a kitten. At least then she would have another living thing in the house, something she could spoil and cuddle. Maybe she’d stop by the pet store down the street from the office on her lunch break tomorrow.

At home, she collected her mail from Mr. Evans, the building manager, before going up the stairs to her apartment. She kicked off her shoes, dropped her handbag on the coffee table, and flopped onto the sofa. Feeling blue, she sorted through the mail, putting bills in one pile on the coffee table, ads and junk on another pile, magazines on another.

Sitting back, she stared into the fireplace. What was Jake doing tonight? Was he missing her the way she was missing him? Or had he moved on? He was a gorgeous guy and the world was filled with women—women who were a lot more beautiful and sexy than she was. Women who wouldn’t hesitate to take a gorgeous hunk like Jake to bed in a heartbeat …

She dashed the tears from her eyes. Saintcrow had told her to put it all out of her mind. Easier said than done, she thought bleakly. She had spent less than two weeks with Jake, but they had been the best days of her life. She had never felt more alive. Never met anyone like him, she thought with a sigh. And she never would again.

Two fat tears rolled down her cheeks. “I miss you,” she murmured. “Why did you have to be a vampire?” The thought gave her pause. Maybe part of the reason she loved him wasbecausehe was a vampire.

Frowning, she tried to imagine what he would be like if he was just an ordinary man. Sure, he’d still be six-foot four and handsome as sin, but would he still have that air of arrogance and self-assurance? That aura of power that clung to him like a second skin? Would she have felt as safe with him if he hadn’t been a vampire? Would the attraction still have been there?

She shook her head. What difference did any of it make now?

She skipped dinner in favor of tea and toast. Turned on the TV and stared at the screen, but the images meant nothing.

She jerked awake when her phone rang. “Oh, Micah. Hi.”

‘Hi, yourself. How was Florida?”

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